For those with thousands of photos on their iOS devices, Apple's iOS 7 photo organization efforts are probably welcomed. In the end, though, it likely won't be that much help for finding a specific picture or simply enjoying your collection. That's where a service like Everpix comes in handy.

The cloud-based service basically collects and combines all of your photos into a single place from any source you allow it access to: Mac and Windows computers, iOS devices (Android is in development), and social networks. Once pictures are uploaded, Everpix analyzes your shots by date and content (people and pets as well as things like activities and locations) so you can view them instantly in groups it calls Moments, Highlights, and Explore.

Everpix

And now, after 18 months, its updating its site features and iOS app to make discovery even easier. Among other things, image analysis has been improved for better photo grouping and visual search has been refined, so navigating a collection of thousands of pictures can be done rapidly.

For example, say you're looking for photos from a holiday party or a vacation two years ago or a night out last month. Everpix surfaces the pictures that best represent specific events, so a simple scroll through your collection can quickly locate the shots you want. In the app, once you find the event you want, a long-press on one of the pictures exposes all the photos related to that event.

One of service's nicest features is that you can set it to send you e-mails displaying moments from your photo collection from past years. That feature has been morphed into Everpix Flashbacks, which shows you photos and events of the past through a new tab in the app and on the Everpix site. You can also have these sent to you in daily or weekly e-mails, and eventually through a dedicated Mac app.

If you're interested in testing it out, Everpix changed its pricing earlier this year to include a free version that holds all your photos from the past 12 months. If you decide you'd like to have your entire picture collection in Everpix, a premium account will set you back $49 a year or $4.99 a month. Bear in mind that, like many cloud services, Everpix's organizational features only exist with the service; stop using it and your photos go back to being the same mess they were before you started.

About the author

Joshua Goldman is a senior editor for CNET Reviews, covering cameras, camcorders, and related accessories. He has been writing about and reviewing consumer technology and software since 2000.
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